Conceptual Framework for Online Identity Roles

I just wrapped up a final project for an aesthetics course this semester, the assignment being to create a “Database of the Self.” I chose to make the database as a representation of the roles we play in terms of how we interact with information online. The roles are overlaid on a panarchy, which shows a visualization of adaptive lifecycles. Though the evolution of every idea or meme won’t necessarily follow this specific path, (it may in fact be rhizomatic, with multiple feedback loops), this begins to flesh out what we become as nodes within an enmeshed series of networks.

The cycle can be thought to begin with the “Activators,” in the lower right side of image.

For an interactive version of the graphic, click here. (Thanks to @gavinkeech for transforming my sketches into the web page). Scroll over the icons for descriptions and traits of each role to pop out. Roles also listed below.

I found this to be an interesting exercise when thinking about the impact and influence we have on the web, and how information travels. For instance, when you RT something on Twitter, you’re fulfilling a “Propagator” function, when you’re introducing people or bridging information you’re a “Connector,” when you’re developing a new theory or model or practice, you are a “Pathfinder,” and so on. It’s a different way of thinking about our relationship with information – one that puts more control in the hands of the user versus just drowning in “information overload.” It’s also an interesting way to think about who to send information to when trying to plant seeds of information and spread ideas.

Thanks to @wildcat2030 for inspiration from Friendships in Hyperconnectivity mindmap and to @gavinkeech for visual design.

Activators are the catalysts of transformational change, manifesting new ideas.